Sir William Stephenson
Stephenson, Sir William Samuel
Sir William Samuel Stephenson, inventor, businessman, master spy (b at Winnipeg, Man 11 Jan 1896;
At the beginning of WWII, Stephenson was placed in charge of British Security Co-ordination (counterespionage) in the Western Hemisphere, with headquarters in New York C (where the telegraphic address was INTREPID - later popularized as Stephenson's code name). His organization's activities ranged from censoring transatlantic mail, breaking letter codes (which exposed at least one German spy in the US) and forging diplomatic documents, to obtaining Vichy French and Italian military codes, protecting against sabotage of American factories producing munitions for Britain, and training (at CAMP X, near Oshawa, Ont) allied agents for surreptitious entry into Nazi-occupied Europe.
Although Stephenson was knighted by King George VI and awarded the US Medal for Merit, not much was known about his war services until the publication of H. Montgomery Hyde's The Quiet Canadian (1962). William Stevenson (no relative to Stephenson) later published 2 books about him, A Man Called Intrepid (1977) and Intrepid's Last Case (1983). The claims made regarding Stephenson's career have been treated with reserve by professional historians and experts on intelligence. Stephenson lived in the W Indies after WWII, becoming chairman of the Caribbean Development Corp, and eventually retired to Bermuda.
Stephenson, Sir William
Stephenson invented the wirephoto and had a now-famous career in espionage during WWII as the agent "Intrepid" (artwork by Irma Coucill).
Author DONALD J.C. PHILLIPSON
Links to Other Sites
William Stephenson
A profile of Canadian flying ace and inventor, businessman, and master spy, William Samuel Stephenson. From Library and Archives Canada.
William Stephenson
About Sir William Stephenson and other Canadian agents involved in Allied intelligence operations during the Second World War. From Veterans Affairs Canada.
Camp X Historical Society
A great site for all would-be sleuths. Search for clues about the once secret history of Camp X, a major training and communications centre for Allied intelligence operations during the Second World War. Produced by the Camp X Historical Society in Ontario.
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